Authors: Virginia Jewel
Josh and I made eye contact quickly before he answered.
“We didn’t tell anyone just in case things didn’t work out. We wouldn’t want our friends and families to have to take sides if things got ugly between us.”
Josh’s dad winked at me, “That’s wise, son, because most people would take her side without question.”
Josh’s dad had seen our video and subsequent television appearances and had many questions for us. We answered them the best we could without giving the truth away. Josh and I exchanged a few looks, but we were able to get through it without slipping up.
When we got to the store for our rehearsal, Josh dropped us off at the front entrance while he went to park the car. My feet were already killing me and I was grateful to Josh for saving me even a few steps in my shoes.
“I’m glad he left us alone, I have something I need to give you.” Mr. Matthews grabbed my arm as we left the car. He pulled me into the entrance and off to the side. He reached into his jacket and pulled something out of his pocket. “This was Helen’s mother’s, they both wore it on their wedding day. It was her wish that Josh’s bride wear it on her wedding day.”
He held out a gold necklace with a small blue sapphire pendant.
“I hope you don’t already have something old or blue. Those are the traditions, right?” he shifted nervously.
I timidly took the necklace from his hand. “Thank you. It’s beautiful. I don’t have anything blue, or I didn’t have anything blue until now.”
“Good,” he smiled at me. “I have something else, too. It’s for Josh, but I’d like it to be a surprise. I figured you could give it to the maid of honor and then you could put it on him.” He pulled something small out of his pocket and placed it in my hand.
I stared down at the gold men’s wedding band sitting in the palm of my hand.
“It’s mine,” he smiled humorlessly; “it was mine. I thought Josh might like to have it for himself, you know for sentimental value and all.”
A sob caught in my throat, but I forced it back down.
“His mother would have been so happy to see you two together. She always loved you. She told me the day she met you that she thought you’d be the one for Josh.”
I couldn’t look up at him. I just stared at the wedding band in my hand.
“Tomorrow would have been her fifty-fifth birthday, you know. When Josh told me when the wedding was I knew it was her way of being here for you two.”
“Why haven’t you two gone in yet? What are you doing?” Josh’s voice called from behind us.
I quickly shoved the ring into my purse and closed my fist around the necklace before he got to us. “We were waiting for you. I didn’t want to walk in without you.” I added when he joined us.
“How sweet of you,” Josh said with a smile. He bent down to kiss me on the cheek, but I wasn’t expecting it and ended up turning towards him. The result was an awkward kiss on the lips.
Josh and I both pulled away quickly.
“For crying out loud, can’t you two keep your hands and lips off each other for just one night?” Mike shouted as he walked past us and into the store.
Josh and I both blushed. I followed behind him and did my best to avoid eye contact with Josh or his dad.
Everyone had gathered at the customer service desk, waiting for Sam and Nathan. My parents greeted Mr. Matthews with hugs and handshakes. They talked quietly catching up on things and gushing about me and Josh. Josh kept Mike busy, trying to avoid any more embarrassing jokes or comments. I did my best to look busy and ignore the gazes from the SuperMart customers.
“We’re not late are we?” Sasha waddled up with Tommy following behind her. “It took me forever to find something that actually fit, and then Tommy had to stop for something to eat. He’s such a baby. I told him that he should just wait until the dinner, but he’s worried that he won’t like the food.”
“Well, maybe if someone would make a dinner that doesn’t consist of chicken nuggets and fruit snacks then I wouldn’t have to stop somewhere to grab something to eat.” Tommy snapped back at her, but with a smile plastered on his face.
Sasha rolled her eyes, “Are you sure you want to do this and end up like us?”
I smiled at her. Despite all her negative comments, I knew that she was happy with her life. Her contentment with her life was one of the reasons it was killing me to lie to her. She loved me, and she loved Josh, and the idea of us together was just too perfect. As a couple, Josh and I would make the perfect coupled-companions for them. I also knew that both Sasha and Tommy took their commitment seriously.
“Look at you two! How cute are you with your color-coordinated outfits?” Tommy chuckled and pointed to us.
“She said it was our right to be obnoxiously cute tonight.” Josh rolled his eyes as he explained.
Tommy put his hand on Josh’s shoulder, “Trust me, bro. If you start letting her dress you now, you’ll never be allowed to pick out your own outfit again.” He pointed down at the outfit he was wearing. It was something that, before he married Sasha, he wouldn’t have been caught dead in. The men all laughed, their wives swatted them.
“Is everyone here?” Sam walked up with a host of assistants behind him.
“Carrie and Jody are just meeting us at dinner. We can go ahead and get started.” I answered him quickly, anxious to get the whole thing over with.
“Great, let’s get going!” Sam turned and headed off towards the center of the store. His minions trailed behind him, and the rest of us followed them.
We stood in the center aisle for five minutes while Sam discussed details with his assistants, then he grabbed me and my dad and took us away towards the women’s clothing department.
“You two will be here,” he pointed to the dressing rooms. “Actually Mel, we’ll have you in one of the rooms until it’s time to walk down the aisle. Mr. Holden, you’ll wait here for her.”
I glanced at my dad and he winked at me. A small giggle escaped my lips.
Sam gave us a grin, “You wait here until Marley gives you the signal.” He left us standing outside the dressing room. Marley, the assistant, waited a few feet away. She looked nervous like she was afraid if she missed the signal Sam would fire her on the spot. The seriousness of it all made me giggle again.
“What’s so funny Melly?” my dad leaned down to ask me. He hadn’t called me by my nickname in years.
I shrugged, “Nothing, I was just thinking about how organized this whole thing is.”
“How do you really feel about all this?” he studied my face.
I thought for a while about how to answer.
“It’s not what I would have planned for myself, obviously, but at least this way it’s not costing everyone an arm and a leg.”
“Well, at least you know you’ve got the right guy.” He laughed, “I’ve never known a man to be more in love with a woman than Josh is with you.”
I looked up at him, “Why do you say that?”
He smiled, “You know that evening your mother had the shower for you and I took Josh out to get a beer?”
I nodded and blushed, remembering what Josh had told me they talked about that night.
“He talked about you the whole night. He started by apologizing for not asking my permission to marry you then proceeded to tell me how long he’s been in love you and how being married to you would mean so much to him.” He smiled at me. “Of course, he wasn’t telling me anything I didn’t already know.”
“What do you mean?”
He smiled at me, “I’ve known that Josh was in love with you for years.”
“What? He is not!” I quickly corrected myself, “I meant was not.”
“A father knows when a boy is interested in his daughter. Believe me; little Josh Matthews was interested in you!” My dad laughed at me.
Even though I couldn’t see it, I knew my face was red. My dad wasn’t the first person to suggest that Josh had feelings for me, but he was definitely the last person I would have suspected it from.
“You’re on!” Marley came behind us and pushed us towards the main aisle.
Sam met us at the spot where the guests would be seated, and talked to us the whole way up the aisle. I tried to concentrate on what he was saying, but my mind was somewhere else. Up ahead of us, Josh was waiting for us.
When we got to the front, my dad put my hand in Josh’s, and we ran through the ceremony. I was on autopilot, because in my mind I was still running through all the things my dad had said.
“Let’s run through that again.” Sam said when we’d gone through the whole ceremony once. “This time, I want to go through it with the cameras. We need to make sure we catch as much as possible.”
Marley pushed me back to the dressing room and my dad followed behind us. She dropped us at the dressing area we’d started from earlier. I stayed lost in my thoughts, and my dad didn’t press me to talk. He was always great about that. He never forced me to talk about things, but if I wanted to talk, he was always there.
When Marley signaled us, I stood up and took my dad’s arm.
The rehearsal went a lot faster the second time and before I knew it, it was over.
“Hello! Earth to Mel!” Josh was shaking my arm.
“What?” I said absently.
“They want to know if we have any questions about tomorrow.” Josh looked at me oddly.
“Oh, no, I don’t have any questions.”
“Well, if there are no questions, then let’s head to the dinner. Thank you everyone for being so cooperative. I think we’re going to have a wonderful day tomorrow!” Sam announced to the whole crowd of people around us. Half of the crowd wasn’t even with us, but once they’d figured out what we were doing, they had decided to hang around and take pictures and videos on their cell phones.
In the parking lot, everyone scattered to their own cars. Josh’s dad decided to ride with my parents to continue catching up, but I suspected it was our parents’ way of giving us some time alone.
“Is everything alright? You were kind of quiet in there.” Josh asked me when we got to a stop light.
“I’m just overwhelmed and pensive, that’s all.” I answered, but wouldn’t look at him.
He didn’t say anything, but I could feel him watching me. We didn’t speak for the rest of the short ride to the restaurant. When we arrived, I quickly opened my door and got out.
“Wait up! We should probably walk in together.” Josh ran to catch up to me. “What is your deal? You seem so out of it.”
“I know I’m sorry, I’m just thinking about everything. I’ll try to act normal and happy in there.” I put a big smile on my face and opened the door to the restaurant.
Josh followed behind me. The host at the front door pointed us to our party. Josh put his hand on the small of my back as we walked. His touch felt strange now. What my dad had said was weighing heavy on my mind, and now Josh’s hand on my back felt like a lead weight strapped to me.
“There they are!” my mom shouted as we walked in the room.
Everyone turned to face us and cheer.
I smiled at them as best as I could, but a familiar panic was building inside me. Josh moved us towards the empty chairs in the center of the table. As soon as we sat down, the salads were served.
The room was alive with chatter as we ate the delicious food. I talked quietly with the people near me, but it was a struggle to stay out of my thoughts.
The sound of someone clinking silverware against a glass pulled us all out of our conversations.